Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

Chapter 705  Harbinger

Cephal's smile was more like a snarl, full of sharp teeth and savagery. He raised his huge hand, his fingers snapping as if he hadn't moved them for days.

At that moment, Bloody Lily knew that they wouldn't follow Eraskan's idea and took a firm hold of his sword for the fight. "Go ahead, Cephal. We'll take care of your rear."

"As if I needed cover to deal with a mere Harbinger." Cephal replied.

So Cephal launched himself towards the Harbinger. The creature, although it had no easily identifiable facial expression, seemed to recognize the challenge and fell to the sidewalk on the other side of the street, showing off its sharp claws. Its posture was imposing, its muscles tense, ready for a clash.

Cephal seemed to anticipate an attack and leaned slightly to the left. An instant later, the Harbinger opened its bizarre mouth and its tongue lashed out like a whip, hitting the spot where Cephal had been a second ago. Then Cephal quickened his pace, but when he got close to the creature, he pivoted on one foot, sliding to the side and narrowly avoiding the Harbinger's deadly claws. This was a surprisingly agile move for someone of his stature, and he finally attacked with a powerful punch against the creature's flank.

The Harbinger retreated, dodging, but not for long. With impressive speed, it counterattacked, its claws slicing through the air towards Cephal.

Cephal ducked, narrowly escaping the attack, and responded with a devastating knee to the Harbinger's abdomen. The hollow sound of the impact echoed through the silent streets.

Bloody Lily was watching the fight carefully. Apart from the recording and videos of the two Evolved showing off at the beginning of the year, this was the first time she had seen an Evolved fight.

Cephal, as if he possessed inexhaustible inner strength, continued to dodge the Harbinger's attacks. His body seemed to twitch and adapt, as if he could predict his enemy's movements before they even happened. He didn't have the same speed you'd expect from an Evolved, but he was probably faster than most normal players on the high level. In a moment, the Harbinger lunged with its sharp claws, but Cephal launched himself to the side, leaving only a black blur where he had been. The Harbinger's attack found only emptiness, and Cephal countered with a precise blow that sent the creature reeling backwards, its empty eyes showing surprise.

The street was now marked by the fast and fierce movements of the combatants. Cephal was like a storm, his fists transformed into hammers that fell with crushing force on the Harbinger. The ground shook with each impact, and the metallic sound resounded in the night air. The Harbinger, for its part, seemed desperate to hit its opponent.

Meanwhile, Bloody Lily had given up on just standing to one side. She boldly stepped forward, her gaze focused on the Harbinger. With one swift movement, she struck a sword blow, slicing through the air with millimeter precision. The blade met the Harbinger's skin, leaving a bright red line in its path. The monster let out a high-pitched roar, its attention divided between Cephal and the new threat.

Cephal growled, but seized the opportunity and charged with ferocity. His arm was now encased in a black substance that resembled iron, and transformed into a powerful fist that struck the Harbinger with devastating force. The creature was thrown backwards, its body colliding with a nearby post, making it shudder with the impact. It looked like the battle was about to reach its climax, but the Harbinger wasn't willing to give up so easily. After all, it wasn't just any creature.

With a deafening roar, the Harbinger stood up again, its determination unshakable.

Cephal smiled and lunged again, with a powerful punch hitting the Harbinger squarely. The creature staggered, its body shaking under the impact. It seemed that the battle was finally reaching its climax. However, the Harbinger, despite its wounded appearance, didn't give up and tried one last attack. However, Cephal, with his monstrous reflexes, anticipated the Harbinger's move. He deftly dodged the attack, leaving the monster stretching in empty air. In one swift movement, Cephal grabbed the Harbinger's outstretched arm and twisted it hard. Then Cephal grabbed the monster's neck with his other hand and squeezed it with all his might.

A high-pitched scream echoed through the street and the Harbinger was defeated in just over a minute. Its body fell to the ground, motionless and defeated.

Cephal looked at the crumbling corpse and screamed with happiness, looking like an animal.

Finally, Cephal took a deep breath, feeling the adrenaline still pulsing through his veins. His arm, once encased in a black iron-like substance, gradually began to fade, returning to its human form. This was a power that came with the mutation of the Evolved.

He looked at Bloody Lily and smiled confidently, a wild, satisfied smile that revealed sharp teeth, more reminiscent of a predator than a man.

"You're good with that sword, but if you interfere in another battle of mine, I won't be your ally anymore." Cephal praised ambiguously, his voice purring like distant thunder.

Bloody Lily nodded, her red hair falling over her eyes. "That thing you did with your hand... Is it a skill?"

"No, it's something only the Evolved can do. When an Evolved ascends, they must look for other ways to keep getting stronger." Cephal replied.

"I see... That means I can't learn something like that, right?" She asked.

"If you tried, your body would probably succumb. Even for me, who's been through the mutation, it's difficult because I'm weakened."

"Hey, guys. I think Jayaa and I found where Kaizen went." Eraskan said, approaching Blood Lily and Cephal. "Follow me, please."

The night wind whispered through the rubble of the city, carrying with it a scent of dust and despair. Cephal and Bloody Lily looked at each other, shook shoulders and carefully followed the path guided by Eraskan. Their footsteps echoed in the tense silence of the night. The wreckage of the surrounding buildings told the story of a desolate event, with everything partially destroyed and rubble strewn across the narrow streets the closer they got to the city. The moonlight filtered through the dark clouds, casting eerie shadows over the desolate scenery.

The trio crossed a small alleyway, aware that the Harbinger threat might not be the only one in that devastated city. After a short walk, they finally found Jayaa, who was hiding among the wreckage of an old café. He seemed relieved to see them, his tired eyes reflecting a mixture of hope and apprehension. Beside him, there was a path further on, crossing the café itself at the dead end.

"Did you manage to defeat the Harbinger?" asked Jayaa.

Cephal nodded, his expression serious. "Yeah, it wasn't even a problem."

"I have to say that it was Eraskan's idea to leave you there and find a way for us to follow, if necessary."

Eraskan gulped at the looks on Bloody Lily and Cephal's faces. "Well, I figured you were more than enough to handle a skinny creature like that."

Then Lilith, Eraskan's owl, flew in from the sky and landed on her owner's left shoulder.

Bloody Lily observed the owl and its brief interaction with Eraskan. "So, did you find anything?" She asked.

"Lilith says the way ahead is completely clear, we can go on so you can see what we've seen." Eraskan said.

So they walked through the deteriorating café, full of cracks, until they could see, through a fallen wall, the center of the Royal Capital of Mibothen, and this center was full of tall stone buildings and towers, but the main building was a large capitol, a gigantic building, completely thin, matching the snow that had begun to fall.

"If the King of Mibothen is alive or hasn't disappeared like his population, he must be there. Maybe that's why Kaizen went with Fryft, he cares about that sort of thing." said Jayaa.

"It's true, I heard that he even helped the King of Tretidian several times, maybe..." Eraskan was about to say, but the Bloody Lily interrupted him.

"No, Kaizen doesn't care about that sort of thing. As he once told me: there are no heroes, only men selfish enough to choose the right thing to do over the easy one. I believe he went with Fryft to try to understand all this confusion once and for all, because in reality, all we know are crumbs, chopped-up parts of something and that it may all be affected by a cordless phone effect." Bloody Lily said.

Cephal crossed his arms. "This Kaizen seems to be an intelligent man, and he's right, there are no heroes. For that reason, I warn you, I will only stand by you until Fryft is defeated and I regain my powers, if anything else happens after that, you won't have my help."

"Seriously, who called this guy?" Jayaa asked, pointing at Cephal without any respect, but instead of everyone getting tense, Eraskan and Bloody Lily started laughing, while Cephal was confused.